


Stop and Listen

by aexis1465



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Autistic Character, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Keith wants him to not be sad, Lance is sad, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 15:19:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10993593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aexis1465/pseuds/aexis1465
Summary: Keith didn't know the exact date it was on Earth, but he would give a rough estimate on it being mid-January based on Pidge's makeshift calendar. He also didn't know where Lance was or why his boyfriend decided to disappear.He walks through the different hallways of the castle, some he has never been down before, looking for Lance. With each new hallway he sees, he reminds himself to spend more time exploring the castle. Lance was always telling Keith he wasn’t adventurous enough. There were hundreds of rooms, each one containing something different, yet he has never thought to opening a door to see what’s behind it. But that was and adventure for another time. Right now he was focused on finding Lance.





	Stop and Listen

There weren’t many things Keith could say he hated. Strongly disliked? Of course, but not hate. However, with that being said, Keith hated seeing Lance upset. Since the pair started dating, Lance has been more open with his insecurities and thoughts to Keith, meaning he wasn’t hiding from the others to brooding over his thoughts. As a result, Voltron is doing better and Lance is happier, which in turn, makes Keith happier as well.

Yet from the moment Keith woke up without Lance holding his waist, he knew something was wrong. The familiar warmth was replaced with the cold air from how low the temperature Lance insists his room stays at. Keith enjoyed the cold weather, but didn’t want his bedroom to beat a constant 65 degrees. Though, the temperature gives him an excuse to steal Lance’s jacket as he leaves his room.

“Has anyone seen Lance today?” Keith asked as he walked through the dining hall where everyone except for himself and Lance were eating breakfast. He received a chorus of _no_ ’s in response.

“Alright, I’m gonna keep looking around. If anyone sees him, tell me.” 

He walks through the different hallways of the castle, some he has never been down before, looking for Lance. With each new hallway he sees, he reminds himself to spend more time exploring the castle. Lance was always telling Keith he wasn’t adventurous enough. There were hundreds of rooms, each one containing something different, yet he has never thought to opening a door to see what’s behind it. But that was and adventure for another time. Right now he was focused on finding Lance.

The mice ran in front of him, causing him to trip over his feet to avoid stepping on them. He can’t imagine the wrath Allura would put him through if he injured -- or possibly killed -- one of the mice. Despite slamming his body into a wall to avoid the mice, it wasn’t all bad. Behind the wall he hit he could hear crying, and unless someone snuck into the castle, it was Lance crying. 

“Thank you,” He whispered to the mice as he stood up from the wall. They nodded at him and scurried off while Keith pressed the sensor to open the door. 

When the door opened, Lance whipped his head around to see who was there. Upon seeing Keith, he relaxed, but didn’t stop crying. 

The room was not what Keith expected. It looked like a child’s bedroom. The walls were painted a vibrant green that looked as though it would irritate the eyes of anyone who looked at it for more than a few minutes. There were toys and books on a shelf that sat across from a closet. Lance was sitting on the floor, resting his arms and head on the toddler-sized bed. 

“Hey,” Keith said softly. “What’s going on? Why are you crying into a stuffed bear?” 

“It looks like the one I gave Anthony,” Lance cried. 

“Anthony?” 

Keith has never heard of an Anthony from Lance before. He’s heard about nearly all of Lance’s exes from either Hunk or Lance, but Anthony was never mentioned. 

“It’s his birthday today,” He explained without looking at Keith. “He’s five.” 

“Is he your little brother?” 

“No.” Lance shook his head, but didn’t tell Keith who Anthony was to him. 

“Who is he?” 

“He’s my son.” A new wave of tears ran down Lance’s cheeks. Keith moved to sit down next to Lance and hold him while he cried. 

_A son._ Keith thought. With how often Lance talks about his family, Keith can’t recall him ever mentioning having a child. He wonders why it never came up until now. Keith knows none of the paladins would give him a hard time about having a child so young. Shocked, definitely, but they wouldn’t chastise Lance for something this important. 

“Do you want to tell me more about him?” Keith said cautiously. 

Lance took a few deep breaths to stop his crying. “When I was sixteen, I slept with this girl and didn’t think much of it because it was at a party. I wasn’t even meant to go, I was grounded, but I snuck out of my house. I never saw or heard from the girl again until eight months later. She showed up at my front door and told me that I had to go to the hospital. I told her she was insane -- that I had no reason to go to the hospital.” 

Lance shifts his body weight so he can lie his head on Keith’s shoulder. 

“She told me I had a son and she didn’t want him. That he was waiting for me to name him and take him home from the hospital when he was able to leave. He was born a month early and that’s all I knew about him at the time. She ran away before I could say anything. I couldn’t believe it. I had a kid and the mother, whose name is still unknown to me, just left him as soon as she could. Like, that’s so messed up, right?” 

Keith knew the feeling. His father left when he was three and almost exactly a year later his mother dropped him off at a random hospital, never to be seen again. Now, almost sixteen years later, he still refuses to talk about it at all costs. 

“So I tell my parents and Mama is livid. I couldn’t tell if she was angry because her sixteen year old son was the first of her kids to have kids of their own or if she was mad about the mother of said child just leaving. My family is very family-oriented, obviously, so they weren’t okay with her just leaving a baby at the hospital. I wasn’t either, but I was so shocked at the time I was having trouble comprehending stuff.” 

Keith looked down at Lance’s face to see the emotion he was telling the story with. He still looked upset, but anger was also prominent on his face, as if he was reliving the event. 

“Anyway, Mama drives me to the hospital. She still hasn’t said anything besides, ‘get in the car,’ and I’m sitting in the front seat terrified. I mean, who wouldn’t be in that situation? In a matter of minutes I was told I had a nameless son waiting for me at a hospital and that the mother wanted nothing to do with him. Who wouldn’t be scared?” 

“Shiro, the guy isn’t scared of anything,” Keith said. 

“Let me tell you something,” Lance smiled. “Shiro has been through a lot, but he has never been told he had a kid while he was still a kid. It’s the scariest thing in the universe.” 

“Fair enough.” 

“So I get to the hospital and I’m telling the nurse my name and all that. She keeps telling me how cute this baby is and how the entire nursing department has been enamored by my little man who wasn’t even four days old at that point. Once I finally get the information, I’m led to the NICU. That’s terrifying on it’s own. I knew he was premature, but no one mentioned anything about him being in intensive care.” 

“Was your mom still with you?” 

“Yes, she waited outside the door for this next part though. They would only let me in because I was the father,” Lance said. 

“I’m let into the room where he is and- and-” He pauses. Keith looks to see the biggest smile on Lance’s face. He is staring at the wall, but it’s obvious the memory is replaying in his head. 

“And he was the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. I’m not just saying that because he was mine, I truly mean it. My little guy was beautiful. He was sleeping peacefully in the little crib thing all the NICU babies are kept in and- there aren’t even words to describe the feeling. You think you love someone as much as you possibly can, like you reached a point where you had no more love to give, but then you have a baby. I was young and scared and alone in a room with a baby that was my responsibility for as long as a live, but all I felt was love for him. When I walked over to the crib, he woke up and was staring so intently at me. It was like he knew I was his dad and he was waiting for me to do something about it.” 

“That sounds wrong,” Keith laughed. 

“Listen, you haven’t even heard the entire story yet.” 

“You’re right, you’re right. Carry on,” He said. 

“The nurse asked if there was any names I had in mind. I chose Anthony. There really isn’t a reason being the name, but it seemed to fit perfectly. She let me hold him after I signed the birth certificate. I promised him I’d never leave him like his mother did.” 

The happy atmosphere of Lance’s story disappeared with his last statement. The air felt heavier and Keith waited for Lance to start crying again. 

“But four years later I did just that. I was accepted into the Garrison and Mama told me I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that. She said leaving for two years would be better in the long run for Anthony and I. I still don’t understand why she said that, though. If anything, that was a point in time I should have stayed with Anthony. He needed me. He still needs me?” 

“Besides the obvious, why was it more crucial to stay then?” 

“Three weeks before I got the acceptance letter, Anthony was diagnosed with autism. He wasn’t speaking and his motor skills weren’t the best, so I took him to a doctor. I was expecting stunted growth from being premature, but they said he had autism. My family became very cautious around him once I told them. They weren’t treating him the same and, frankly, it pisses me off because they still do it. An hour before I found out, they treated him like he was any other kid. Then I tell them over dinner when we got home and suddenly they are treating him like- like- I can’t explain it, but they weren’t treating him the same as before.” 

He took another deep breath to calm himself down. “He was so scared when I left, Keith. It was terrible. I never want to see him cry like that ever again. He had to be pulled off of me in the airport because I would’ve missed my flight. Leaving him broke my heart. I sent him letters and pictures every week and I would call him any chance I could. He still wasn’t talking very well, but each time I called he knew a few more words and that was enough for me. I was so proud! I’m still so proud! I would love to see where he is now, nearly two years later.” 

“I’m going to make sure you make it home, or at the very least find a way to contact Anthony,” Keith promises. 

“Come on, you can’t do that.” 

“It doesn’t matter, I’m going to.” 

“Thanks, that means a lot.” Lance tilts his head and kisses Keith’s jaw.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! If you have any prompts or you just want to chat hmu on tumblr: [@aexis1465](http://aexis1465.tumblr.com/)


End file.
